


Mint ice cream

by FedonCiadale



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Modern AU, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-05
Updated: 2017-09-05
Packaged: 2018-12-24 07:35:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12008058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FedonCiadale/pseuds/FedonCiadale
Summary: Sansa has been dumped by Harold Hardyng in the middle of nowhere with her children and reflects on a fatefuly day in the past and her cousin Jon Snow.





	Mint ice cream

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Amymel86](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amymel86/gifts), [MissEmmanuelle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissEmmanuelle/gifts).



> I wrote this a month ago for the photo prompt of jonsa-creatives aka the lovely amymel86 and missemanuelle on tumblr. Thanks for making me write my first modern AU. Unless in other modern AUs in my story Sansa and Jon are still cousins. And that is part of the problem.

_Mint Ice cream! Why on top of everything else, was there only mint ice cream available in this blasted shop in the middle of nowhere_. Sansa hated mint ice cream, not because she didn’t like the taste, but because of the memories mint evoked when the taste was on her tongue. Even now, after 15 years had gone since that fateful yard sale.

Her eyes were filling with tears and she vigorously rubbed her cheeks. _Why, why am I still not over him? I should be crying over my impending divorce!_

Her children though were happy with the ice cream. They had been subdued and silent after her row with Harry, and Sansa had felt very bad, that they had been witness to this nasty scene. And that was the reason why they now sat in this little ice café. _And the rain._

Little Rickard already had a moustache from the chocolate on top of the ice cream, and his older sister Alys was eating her portion with tiny bits, savouring every bite. Sansa smiled at them through her tears. _I should be glad I am rid of Harry and that he has no interest in the children. I won’t be stuck here forever, Robb is on his way._

She checked her phone again. There were no new messages, but she opened the last one again, a strange feeling of security washing over her. ‘Help is on the way’ stood beside Robb’s picture. Robb would come and pick her up, here in this tiny English village, where Harry had dropped her, after Sansa finally had found the courage to tell him, that she would not put up with his unfaithfulness any longer.

The children had finished their ice cream and they just wanted to cuddle. Sansa could hardly blame them and she pressed Alys to her side and put Rickard on her lap. Somehow the children soon fell asleep. The waitress of the tiny café was very nice and waved Sansa’s concern away.

“You stay here, as long as it takes your brother to come here,” she whispered and Sansa was close to tears again, when she brought her a cup of tea.

With the rhythmic breathing of the children and the rest of the mint ice cream on the table before her, Sansa had time to think about that day again.

It had been a beautiful summer day and Sansa could still remember the white dress she had put on that day, the feel of the fabric under her hands, when she had put her hands on her waist. She had been so happy that day, feeling like her feet were above the floor somehow, she had known she was beautiful, and she had been so happy, because Jon had promised her to keep her company that day.

And the day had been enchanted, the sky was blue, it was pleasantly warm, and her handsome cousin had been at her side the whole day. They hadn’t been very efficient with the selling, but Sansa had taken every opportunity to occasionally brush Jon’s hand or his arm. She could still remember her blood pounding in her ear, from the excitement of it all, from her boldness that she finally acted on the crush she had had for ages. They had shared mint ice cream when evening came.

While she sat in the café, her children in her arms, she did not cry about her dead marriage, she cried when she remembered the kiss, that one kiss.

If only Arya hadn’t walked in on her and Jon. They might have worked out something how to break the news to the family, anything would have been better than the disaster that had followed. Her parents had been livid with anger, her mother accusing Jon of seducing her, her father voicing his disappointment with his nephew who owed everything to his uncle, Arya telling their little brothers, that it was all so ‘icky’.

The incident was never talked about again, but Jon rarely visited after that. He had gone off to university and then to the army and Sansa had only seen him at the occasional big family feast. If it had not been for Robb, she might not even have heard from Jon. Sweet Robb, who hadn’t been there that fateful day and who was oblivious to his sister’s hurt and as far as Sansa knew had never been informed why Jon had made himself scarce, after he left for studying.

 _My attempts at relationships have been a disaster since then_. _Joffrey, the handsome asshole, Loras, who wasn’t into girls at all, but who actually had been nice, Petyr, the stalker. Not that I have ever been with Petyr, but the creepy attorney and my attempts at getting rid of my unwanted admirer have cost me three years of my life. And then Harry, handsome as well, but a douchebag. He actually had the nerve to drop me off in the middle of nowhere._

Sansa looked at her phone again. She flipped through her contacts and found the picture of her parents. Briefly, she contemplated calling her parents, but what could she say. She tried it in her head. _‘Hi Mom, Hi Dad, I fucked up another relationship. My marriage is a sham, I’ll come with the children tomorrow. My life is in shambles right now. The only man, I ever wanted, the only man, I ever loved, is my cousin and you didn’t think he was good enough for me. Guess, what? He would have been ten times better than any of the others.’_

Sansa shook her head. It was no use to blame her parents. She had been seventeen and they had only wanted her best. ‘ _You’re too young, you don’t know your heart yet’._ Her mother’s chiding word echoed in her head.But her heart had known, even at seventeen. They should have given them a chance, instead of separating them. _I wonder if Jon still thinks about that fateful day._

She checked Robb’s contact again. Nothing new. Well, it would take him some time. Sansa settled the sleeping Rickard closer to her neck and shifted a bit on the bench, because her left arm, where Alys had put her head began to tingle. She leaned own head on the chair behind her. _I might as well take a nap._ It was not very comfortable, but one advantage of being a mom of two lively children was the ability to sleep almost anywhere. And it meant that she would not get cold, with her two little ovens near. She closed her eyes, the taste of memory on her lips.

“Sansa,” she heard her sister’s voice. She woke with a start. “Arya!”, she said. “I thought Robb would come!” Rickard and Alys woke up and gave their aunt an enthusiastic greeting and like children they went from sleeping to awake in a matter of seconds. Sansa stretched and rubbed her neck, but Arya was already by her side and hugged her.

“Sansa, I’m so sorry. Do you want me to go after Harry with Gendry and give him my opinion on dropping you in the middle of nowhere?”

Sansa shook her head. “No, no. I’ve already decided to try my best for the sake of the children. But I appreciate your coming to my aid.”

Sansa looked around. “Where is Robb?”

“He called me, I was closer.” Arya answered.

Sansa was not too sure how she felt about that. Arya who had married her first boyfriend, who had not been told, that she would not know her heart, and only because Gendry happened to be not a cousin but the son of father’s partner. She did not know, if she wanted Arya to pull her out of a mess again. _To be fair, she and Gendry really scared the shit of out of that stalker Petyr._

“Fetch your things, the car is just outside.” Arya said.

Sansa took her bag. “There are no things, and we’d better stop at some shop along the way. I only have one nappy left.”

She bent down to take a discreet sniff at Rickard’s trousers. _No need to change yet._

Arya extended her hand to Rickard. “Come on, Auntie Arya gives you a ride,” and she picked him up easily, and gave him a hug, while he was gurgling with glee.

Alys tucked her sleeve. “Is Uncle Gendry with you,” she asked.

Arya shook her head.

Arya insisted on paying the bill, chatting along until Sansa thought her cheerfulness was overdone. As they were just about to leave the café, she stopped her sister.

“What is it? Spit it out! I’d rather hear about me sucking at relationships now than later.” Sansa said.

Arya’s face became earnest. “It was not your fault, Sansa, blame that douchebag Harry, but not yourself.” She took a deep breath.

“The past is the past, but hopefully, the future will be better. You’ll get a husband who’s gentle and if it’s the last thing I’ll do.”

_What a strange thing to say._

But when they went out of the café, Sansa understood better. There was Arya’s car and beside the car stood Jon, white shirt, tie, looking handsome as ever. Sansa immediately stopped in her steps, suddenly feeling very unsure and her heart fluttered in her chest.

Arya turned to her. “Robb had a long talk with Jon, just a week ago, and then we had a big row. Robb said, he expected yours and Harry’s fall out any time and that I should try to make amends. He told me, that you asked after Jon very often.” She glanced questioningly at Sansa.

Sansa felt her cheeks redden. “Was I that obvious?”

Arya gave a short bark. “Robb thinks, you were, but it was not until Jon told him about what happened, that he started to make a fuss about it.” Her voice was not as boisterous as it usually was.

She disentangled her hand from little Alys’s and reached over to Sansa and pressed her shoulder.

“I was a child, Sansa, I had no idea.”

Sansa did not trust her voice, she felt the tears budding in her eyes and she just nodded.

Jon came over and they stared at each other awkwardly and stood there for a long time without saying a word, while Arya took the children to the car and arranged the seats.

Finally, Sansa broke the silence. “We should come back here one day, you know,” she said. “They have excellent mint ice cream.”


End file.
